Big 12 athletic directors this week are likely to discuss the SEC’s strict transfer policy in the wake of the conviction of former Baylor player Sam Ukwuachu, CBS Sports has learned.
In May, the SEC adopted a policy of not accepting transfers who had been dismissed at their previous school for “serious misconduct.” That term was defined as sexual assault, domestic assault and other forms of sexual violence.
Ukwuachu was found guilty last week of sexually assaulting a female Baylor student in 2013. The former defensive end was suspended by Baylor coach Art Briles for unspecified reasons in 2014.
“I’m sure it [SEC rule] will be a topic of discussion,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports. “It may be a little too raw right now to do anything much with it. I think there may be an ongoing conversation.”
Big 12 ADs are getting together Monday and Tuesday in a regularly scheduled meeting. At least one Big 12 AD told CBS Sports he would be in favor of adopting a rule similar to the SEC’s. The issue is not part of the formal agenda, but is expected to be raised given current events.
The transfer issue came to a head in the SEC this year when Alabama’s Nick Saban took lineman Jonathan Taylor as a transfer from Georgia. Taylor allegedly choked and hit a girlfriend at Georgia prior to being dismissed by coach Mark Richt. Taylor was dismissed from Alabama after being arrested on domestic violence charges.
That charge was eventually dropped. Taylor did plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief and misdemeanor domestic violence. Saban subsequently defended his acceptance of Taylor into the program.
Whether the Big 12 adopts such a transfer rule is unknown. The issue potentially varies not only from conference-to-conference but school-to-school.
“It’s easy to say we’re not going to take we’re not going to take kids that have any sort of past with sexual violence,” a source within the Big 12 said. “[But] oftentimes you don’t know the full story.”
Ukwuachu transferred to Baylor following a freshman All-American season at Boise State in 2012. Baylor coach Art Briles denied he knew the full scope of Ukwuachu’s alleged wrongdoing while at Boise. At the trial last week, a woman who was a former Ukwuachu girlfriend in Idaho told the jury the player punched and choked her. Ukwuachu denied the allegations.
Former Boise coach Chris Petersen -- now at Washington -- said he “thoroughly apprised” Briles of the reason for Ukwuachu’s dismissal at Boise.
If the Big 12 adopts a transfer rule similar to the SEC’s it would most likely have be voted in by league’s faculty representatives. However, given the gravity of the situation, league CEOs (presidents) may weigh in.
Transfer issues are not part of the broad autonomy power granted to the Power Five conferences last year. According to a source, the SEC sought transfer rules as issues that could be adopted across the board.
The SEC did not succeed, according to the source, because of concerns from the remaining 31 Division I conferences. Transfer rules will be a topic of “shared governance” during the next two years according to autonomy legislation. That probably means it will next be discussed at the national level at the 2016 NCAA convention.
It was a surprise to many that the football-minded SEC would institute such limits on transfers. With several high-profile transfer cases emerging lately, the rest of the Power Five might now adopt a similar policy.
At Oklahoma alone, administration was criticized for accepting Dorial Green-Beckham as a transfer from Missouri. Green-Beckham pushed a woman down a flight of stairs while at Missouri according to a police report.
Tailback Joe Mixon was accepted back on the team despite allegedly hitting a woman. Mixon was suspended all of last season.
Former Florida State quarterback De’Andre Johnson was dismissed after video emerged of him hitting a woman at a bar. Johnson recently enrolled at East Mississippi Community College.
Several phone calls to the junior college’s head coach and athletic director by CBS Sports seeking comment were not returned.
